Cord reel



Aug. 21, 1 v c. R. ANDERSON CORD REELS Filed July 5, 1946 I INVENTOR. BY ml Qltfm Patented Aug. 21, 1951 CORD REEL Chester R. Anderson, Erie, Pa. Application July 3, 1946, Serial No. 681,346

3 Claims.

In portable or semi-portable electrical appliances there is frequently an excess of conductor cord which varies in amount with the location of the appliance. This invention is intended to provide a container for the excess or slack cord having a built-in reel on which the cord is wound. The reel has a slot in which the cord is laid to position the cord for winding. Since no electrical connections are required, the installation or removal is simple. In a preferred form the container may rest on a floor or may be mounted on a base board. Further objects and advantages appear in the specification and claims.

In the drawing, Figs. 1 and 2 are perspective views showing floor and base board mounting of the device; Fig. 3 is a bottom plan view showing the start of the winding of the slack cord; Fig. 4

is a sectional side elevation; Fig. 5 is a side elevation at right angles to Fig. 4; Fig. 6 is a side elevation showing base board mounting, and Fig. 7 is a view of the clip for base board mounting.

Referring to the drawing, there is shown a housing comprising a cup shaped part I which is normally the upper or outer part of the housing and a closure plate 2 frictionally engaging the rim or edge 3 of the side wall 4 of the part I. These parts are adapted to molded plastics. Integrally projecting from the inner surface of the plate 2 is a drum 5 having at its projecting end a circular recess 6 fitting over a circular projection I on the bottom wall of the cup memher I. The housing parts are secured together by a screw 8 threaded into the projection I. The head 9 of the screw is countersunk in the bottom wall of a recess III in the opposite end of the drum and provides a guide bearing for the closure plate 2. When the screw 9 is tightened, the plate 2 is pulled into frictional engagement with the edge 3 providing sufficient friction to prevent unintentional rotation of the drum.

Extending across the plate 2 is a slot II, the center of which registers with a channel I2 in the drum and the ends of which can, by turning the plate, be brought into register with notches I3 in the rim of the cup member I.

In use the slot II is brought into register with the notches I3 and the conductor cord at the center of the slack is laid in and pushed through the slot so the center of the cord rests in the bottom of the channel and the ends extend out through the notches. The conductor cord now lies beneath the inner surface of the plate and th excess cord is wound on the drum by turning the plate. To prevent injury to the cord, the ends of the channel are rounded as indicated at I4. To centralize the cord on the drum, the notches I3 may have keyhole enlargements I5 as indicated in Fig. 6. The cord may be unwound by grasping the projecting ends of the cord and pulling.

In Fig. 1, the reel is shown applied to a floor lamp I6 having a conductor cord I! plugged into a receptacle I8. In this use the plate lies flat on the floor. In Fig. 2 the reel is shown applied to a table lamp I8 having a conductor cord I 9 plugged into a receptacle 20. Here the reel is shown mounted on a base board by a clip 2| shown in Figs. 6 and 7. The upper end of the clip has a flange 22 insertable through the slot II and tabs 23 at the inner edge of the flange which engage the inner surface of the plate 2. From one aspect, the tabs 23 are offset from the outer part of the clip and are hooked behind the plate 2. The lower end 24 of the clip can be forced behind a base board 25, as indicated in Fig. 6.

The reel provides a simple arrangement for storing slack conductor cord which is easily installed or removed. The exposed reel housing may be made of plastic colored to harmonize with the surroundings.

What I claim as new is:

1. A cord reel comprising a housing having a pair of end walls and an intermediate side wall, a drum within the housing rotatable on an axis transverse to one end wall, a slot in said one end wall extending transversely through the drum axis, and a registering channel in the drum and notches in the side wall, said notches and channel being below the inner surface of said one end wall whereby a cord laid in the slot and registering channel and notches is positioned within the housing to be woundon the drum by relative rotation between the drum and the notched side wall.

2. A cord reel comprising a housing having a pair of end walls and an intermediate side wall, a drum within the housing rotatable on an axis transverse to one end wall, a slot in said one end wall extending transversely through the drum axis, and a registering channel in the drum and notches in the side wall registering with the slot in one position of the drum and extending below the inner surface of said one end wall whereby a cord laid in the slot and registering channel and notches is positioned within the housing to be wound on the drum by relative 3 rotation between the drum and the notched side wall, said notches having enlarged portions toward the center of the drum whereby the unwound ends of the cord tend to rest in the enlarged portions of the notches.

3. A cord reel comprising a housing having a cup-shaped member and a relatively rotatable closure member for the open end of the cup, a drum projecting from the inner surface of the closure member into the cup member, a slot across the closure member having each end in one position registering with a notch in the side wall of the cup member, and a channel in the drum below the inner surface of the closure member and registering with the slot, the slot, notches and channel being wideenough to per REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 464,644 Busbea Dec. 8, 1891 559,133 Holden Apr. 28, 1896 636,158 Mason Oct. 31, 1899 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 201,349 Great Britain of 1923 328,104 France of 1903 

